Summary: Andrée Tremoulet welcomed participants, reviewed the meeting purpose, which was to “develop a shared understanding of equity issues and how they apply to infrastructure policies of the Comprehensive Plan update,” and led the group through an icebreaker.

Equity Overview(60 minutes)

Presenters: Dante James and Judith Mowry, Office of Equity and Human Rights

Summary: Judith Mowry welcomed everyone and explained that the Office of Equity and Human Rights has provided an equity training session for each of the PEGs to promote a common foundational understanding of equity and its role in the Comprehensive Plan update.

Dante James shared his definition of equity, which he said is when a person’s identity cannot or does not have an impact on outcomes. He said that we cannot make change if we treat everyone the same. He urged people to instead recognize the differences and unique qualities that people possess and to accommodate them. He presented three key challenges for IE PEG members to consider:

The importance of leading with race because it is the most effective lever for improving overall outcomes

The need to look for correlations between historical inequities and current infrastructure gaps.

The need to have often emotional discussions about historic and current disparities as a means to make progress.

Dante James conducted an “Elephants in the Room” session by inviting IE PEG members to write down issues about race that they do not usually discuss but that influence day-to-day interactions. He then grouped them and responded to common themes.

Public Comment

No public comment was received at this meeting.

Small Group Discussions (45 minutes)

IE PEG members discussed equity implications of the proposed Centers Goal by identifying underlying assumptions, impacts on communities of color within and outside centers, and the kind of information needed to better understand equity impacts.

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

Bob Glascock asked for a show of hands of who could attend the new proposed date for the January 8 IE PEG meeting from 1 – 3 PM. He confirmed that date and indicated that additional information will be sent out prior to the meeting.